• Business Week / AP, Wednesday, April 12, 2006 11:31 AM

Several top media and entertainment companies are objecting to a proposal by the Securities and Exchange Commission that would require them to disclose critical information about stars' salaries and perks, information that they regard as trade secrets.  Viacom and four other big media companies have filed a letter with the SEC maintaining that the compensation information, if shared, would put them at a competitive disadvantage. Joining Viacom in the letter, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, were CBS Corp., The Walt Disney Co., NBC Universal, and News Corp., which owns the Fox broadcast network.  "The regulation in question would require a company to disclose the pay details of as many as three non-executive employees whose individual compensation exceeds that of any of its top five executives," according to the Associated Press report.  For example, the regulation, if enacted, would require CBS to disclose the details of its new deal with Katie Couric. Among those who wrote to the SEC objecting to the proposal was DreamWorks executive Jeffrey Katzenberg.  He said the rule would "invade the privacy of employees."

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